Dr. Joseph Mercola: The Misinformation ‘Superspreader’

‘Superspreader’

Producer/Director Lora Moftah
Reporters Rachel Abrams and Jan Hoffman

Watch our new documentary on Friday, Aug. 19, at 10 p.m. on FX and Hulu.

Sarah Long credits the information she found on Mercola.com with potentially saving her life.

For years, she had health issues but found few answers from doctors. Then, she learned of Dr. Joseph Mercola, an osteopathic physician based in Florida who sits at the helm of a multimillion-dollar health business spanning books, products and online content.

“He steps up and says, I have answers, where others don’t,” Ms. Long said in our documentary. “You watch his videos and he seems very earnest and very much like he cares.”

Ms. Long eventually became disenchanted, however, finding it hard to ignore the darker and riskier advice he espoused: “At a certain point it shifted,” she said.

Headlines on his website have included “Learn How Homeopathy Cured a Boy of Autism,” “Your Flu Shot Contains a Dangerous Neurotoxin” and “Vitamin D: The Silver Bullet for Cancer.” And in 2021, he topped the “Disinformation Dozen,” a list of 12 people responsible for sharing 65 percent of all anti-vaccine messaging on social media, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate.

In our documentary, we explore Dr. Mercola’s journey from a Chicago-born physician with a healthy skepticism toward the pharmaceutical industry to a millionaire at odds with the Food and Drug Administration and many in his profession.

Co-Producer Leah Harari
Senior Producer Rachel Abrams
Supervising Producers Liz Day, Liz Hodes
Director of Photography Jaron Berman
Video Editor Geoff O’Brien

“The New York Times Presents” is a series of documentaries representing the unparalleled journalism and insight of The New York Times, bringing viewers close to the essential stories of our time.